General Mills Recalls Frozen Pizzas

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Cereal maker General Mills Inc. on Thursday recalled two brands of its frozen pizzas with pepperoni toppings because the meat may have been contaminated with the bacteria E. coli.

The recall affects roughly 414,000 cases of pizza products in stores and all similar pizza products in consumers' freezers, the company said in a statement.

General Mills has voluntarily recalled eight kinds of Totino's and three types of Jeno's frozen pizza, which have pepperoni or other meat products. The company said it is working with federal and state food authorities and launched an investigation immediately after learning about the potential contamination.

Since July 1, Totino's and Jeno's have distributed more than 120 million pizzas nationwide. The pizzas were produced at a Wellston, Ohio, plant.

The tainted food was uncovered by state and federal authorities investigating 21 cases of E. coli-related illness in 10 states. Roughly half of the individuals who became sick were hospitalized. The first case was reported on July 20.

Nine of the 21 people reported having eaten Totino's or Jeno's pizza with pepperoni before becoming ill.